Chapter 141 – Teacher Su Has Fainted Again

Chapter 141 – Teacher Su Has Fainted Again

Though he didn’t know what this “Teacher Su”—whom he’d only met once—wanted to say to him, Yu Sheng still asked everyone else to leave the room.

Now only two people remained in the room. Yu Sheng sat beside the bed, watching the young employee dispatched by the Borderland Council with some curiosity.

“What did you want to tell me?”

Teacher Su was propped against the headboard, her complexion slightly better than before. “Thank you for bringing Xiaoxiao back… though I still can’t understand how you managed to do it.”

Yu Sheng laughed. “Oh, it was nothing. Given the situation at the time, there was no way I could just stand by and do nothing.”

“Are you investigating the ‘Fairy Tale’ matter? I mean… that ‘Otherworld.'” Teacher Su said suddenly.

Yu Sheng paused, seemingly unsure why she’d suddenly brought this up.

The young “teacher” across from him didn’t seem to mind his reaction. She simply paused briefly, then continued speaking as if to herself: “I’ve been working at this orphanage for five years now. Although most matters involving the supernatural in the Borderland are handled by the Special Operations Bureau, there are also personnel in other Council departments who specialize in dealing with paranormal phenomena. As one of them, I was assigned here to serve as a ‘teacher’ for those children…”

“Do you know? Things like this have always been happening in this orphanage. Children will suddenly ‘depart’—sometimes in their sleep, sometimes during class, and sometimes… one second they’re happily sharing a picture book story with you, asking if they can have ice cream after class, and then suddenly they just stop talking, as if something has violently yanked them into another world. Sometimes they manage to cry out, but more often than not, they don’t even have time to call for help or shed tears…”

“For children under ten, loss of control always happens suddenly. My training requires me to identify any child showing abnormalities within ten minutes and get them to the nearest isolation room, all while comforting and guiding the other children to prevent fear from spreading. At first, I was completely flustered, but thankfully there were ‘guardians’ among the children helping out…”

“When I’m teaching them, my eyes sweep across those little ones, but what’s always running through my mind is this—that one seems a bit quiet, could they be in danger? That one is frowning, are they already feeling unwell? One child arrived late, has something already happened? Twelve children came to class today—will it still be twelve tomorrow?”

“Most of my colleagues couldn’t endure working here for very long… They were all very idealistic people. When they first arrived, they were full of confidence. We knew the orphans were being eroded by ‘Fairy Tale’ because they lacked ‘protection’ and ‘bonds,’ so we believed that if we gave them enough love and protected them as much as possible, treating them like family, things could get at least a little better. But like I said… very few people manage to stick it out.”

Yu Sheng didn’t interrupt her. Even though this Teacher Su had been rambling on about things that seemed somewhat “off-topic,” he listened quietly.

But just then, the young Council employee suddenly caught herself. She stopped reminiscing, a hint of apology crossing her face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to tell you all that. It probably just sounds like I’m complaining about work…”

Yu Sheng waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. This also helps me understand what’s been happening in this orphanage from a different angle.”

Teacher Su gave a slight nod, then took a moment to collect herself and organize her thoughts before steering the conversation back on track. “…What I actually wanted to say is, if you really intend to investigate the ‘Fairy Tale’ matter next, you should go to the Special Operations Bureau first—see if you can get temporary access to their archives. The key ones are from seventy years ago.”

Yu Sheng’s expression immediately changed. He instinctively leaned forward. “…Why?”

“I don’t know if Little Red Riding Hood has mentioned this to you,” Teacher Su began slowly, “but a long time ago, the Council and the Special Operations Bureau once tried to solve the ‘Fairy Tale’ problem by directly taking custody of all ‘anomalous orphans.'”

“She did tell me about that,” Yu Sheng nodded immediately. “And she also told me the plan failed quickly—because ‘Fairy Tale’ has a strong rejection of adults, which led to a major disaster.”

“Yes, it failed. Many people died, including a large number of Bureau operatives and their most senior deep-dive agents. But they also left behind a great deal of documentation—records of the various ‘reactions’ that occurred when adults came into contact with ‘Fairy Tale.’ Those materials are in the Bureau’s archives.” Teacher Su paused slightly at this point. “Strictly speaking, these should be the only existing ‘deep observation records’ of the ‘Fairy Tale Otherworld’ under conditions of high activity. And most importantly… these records were documented from the perspective of ‘adults’ and ‘explorers.’ For you, materials from this perspective may be more useful than the ‘experience’ of Little Red Riding Hood and the others.”

The moment Yu Sheng heard this, his eyes turned serious. “That would be incredibly useful—archives from seventy years ago, right?”

Teacher Su nodded, though her expression looked somewhat conflicted. “But the biggest problem is that these archives have a security classification. An ordinary Spirit Detective would have a hard time getting clearance to access them—and my department isn’t part of the same system as the Special Operations Bureau, so there’s not much I can do to help. However, since you successfully brought a child back from the Dark Forest, you might be able to use that to get the Bureau’s attention…”

“Uh, that won’t be necessary,” Yu Sheng said, his expression turning somewhat peculiar. He muttered to himself as he picked up his phone. “I… actually know some people with authority in the Special Operations Bureau. Hang on, let me ask. I should be able to get access.”

He was quite tactful this time, not directly dropping Baili Qing’s name in front of someone he’d just met. But the “Teacher Su” before him clearly misunderstood something. Seeing Yu Sheng about to make a call, she hurriedly added: “I’d still recommend going through proper channels. The Special Operations Bureau has very strict protocols, stricter than most Council departments. Especially their Bureau Chief—stone-faced and completely inflexible…”

But before she could even finish, Yu Sheng had already speed-dialed his most recent contact, and the other end picked up almost instantly. “Hello? Yu Sheng?” Yu Sheng said nothing, looking up at “Teacher Su” propped against the bed.

That “stone-faced and completely inflexible” had come through loud, clear, and perfectly enunciated—and Yu Sheng’s phone was on speaker.

A second later, Baili Qing’s voice came through the speaker again, sounding as calm as usual. “Is someone else there with you?”

Yu Sheng continued his silence, while lifting his phone to show Teacher Su the screen.

The young Council employee, outstanding children’s education worker, XX Welfare Institution’s model staff member and volunteer, Ms. Su, closed her eyes with absolutely zero serenity.

“I’ll call you back later to explain—something urgent came up on my end, gotta hang up…” Yu Sheng grabbed his phone and rattled off the words in a rapid-fire stream, then hung up without waiting for Baili Qing to respond. He leaped to his feet, crossed to the door in two or three steps, and shouted down the corridor at the top of his lungs: “Someone come quick! Your Teacher Su has fainted again!”

And so, a small chaotic episode unfolded. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious—the school nurse quickly took over the infirmary situation, and Teacher Su could now rest peacefully in bed.

Yu Sheng regrouped with Hu Li, Eileen, and Little Red Riding Hood’s party.

After spending a bit of effort explaining what had just happened, everyone present exchanged bewildered glances.

“The mental fortitude of the person the Council sent really isn’t up to par,” Eileen said from her perch on Yu Sheng’s shoulder, making flippant remarks with complete detachment. “She’s fainted twice in no time at all—is she okay?”

Yu Sheng, meanwhile, felt something was a bit off. “How come it seems like so many people are scared of Baili Qing? I get it for Bureau people since she’s their boss, but does she really have that much of an intimidating presence across departments too?”

Little Red Riding Hood went blank for a moment, then turned to look at Yu Sheng. “First of all, that Bureau Chief really is known for being strict and showing no mercy. Everyone who’s dealt with her has been left with a deep impression. I have no idea where you got the impression that she’s ‘easy to talk to.’ Second… the Bureau Chief of the Special Operations Bureau is herself one of the five top-level councilors of the Council. You didn’t know that?”

This time it was Yu Sheng’s turn to go blank. “…I didn’t know that.”

Little Red Riding Hood shrugged and glanced toward the infirmary, a hint of sympathy in her expression. “I hope Teacher Su can take it in stride. A leader that high up probably wouldn’t bother holding a grudge against a low-level employee like her—but you, why did you dial so fast? And with the speaker on, no less.”

“My finger slipped,” Yu Sheng said, trying hard to keep a straight face. “And honestly, at the volume and distance she was at just now, it wouldn’t have made a difference whether I had the speaker on or not…”

He paused mid-sentence, then quickly changed the subject. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Remember what I told you before? Once we confirmed Xiaoxiao’s condition was stable, I was planning to take you somewhere.”

Little Red Riding Hood blinked, then quickly recalled.

This was the answer he’d given her when she’d questioned what confidence Yu Sheng could possibly have in solving the Dark Forest problem.

“I’ve finished what I came here to do,” Yu Sheng said, looking up at the sky outside. “It’s still not too late—so, interested in accepting my invitation?”

Little Red Riding Hood looked at Yu Sheng, then turned to glance behind her.

Rapunzel stood there, with Xiaoxiao—lips pressed together—beside her. They didn’t seem to know what was going on, their gazes carrying a hint of confusion.

“I’m… going to step out for a bit,” Little Red Riding Hood said to them.

(End of Chapter)